NAPERVILLE, IL – When Elaine Brinkman was working 60-hour weeks as a marketing director in Chicago, she didn’t have time to drive to a health club to exercise each day. Instead, when she got home at night, she’d put on a tape of high-energy music and dance. That was her way of staying in shape.
“There are certain tunes that are so energizing you can’t help but get up and move to them,” says Brinkman, who retired from marketing and now lives at Monarch Landing. Her list of exercise favorites includes songs by the Rolling Stones, Jackson 5, Ray Charles, Bee Gees, and the Kinks.
Brinkman recently asked Antonio Galvan, the wellness manager at Monarch Landing, to download her 25 favorite dance songs for her, and she’s now leading a growing group of her neighbors in an hour-long weekly exercise session that consists simply of moving to the music. Brinkman leads people during the first half of the class and people do their own favorite moves during the second half.
“It’s almost like a party,” says Galvan, except that the 20 or so people who regularly participate in the class are indeed exercising and improving their balance, flexibility, and agility. “It’s a fun environment and the music makes it entertaining, so people are more likely to stick to it,” adds Galvan.
Getting people to “stick to it” is only half the challenge that Galvan faces in his role as wellness manager at Monarch Landing. Many people there have never been regular gym-goers, so even getting them in the door can be tough. Despite that, to date 70 percent of people who live at Monarch Landing have signed up as members of the fitness center.